Town OKs change to road

OLD SAYBROOK — Eight property owners have new addresses after the town voted to accept a portion of Elm Street as a municipal road.

In a town meeting this week, the Board of Selectman and a handful of town residents approved the measure, officially making the stretch of road part of Research Parkway.

First Selectman Carl Fortuna, who moderated the meeting, said it was a “long, long, long road” to get this acceptance. He said a lot of work was done on the road to pave it and ensure it had proper drainage.

“The road was a real mess,” he said. “The town undertook to pave it, and so we did some paving and drainage. Then, there was some back-and-forth about actually accepting this as a town road.”

Fortuna said Research Parkway begins off Mill Rock Road West, and proceeds to the intersection of Business Park. He said the way the road intersects with others has caused “major confusion” for mail addresses.

Fortuna said a resident, Charlie Marland, owned the land, including the portion of the road, and left it to the town when he died many years ago.

Fortuna said the town has since not legally owned the road, but has been responsible for any issues with it, including accidents.

He said the roadway was dangerous, and the town worked with Eversource to move power poles and wires.

“To do that, we needed to secure an (aerial) easement over the corner of the property ... so the wires from the new pole could cover over (the owner’s) property,” he said.

Fortuna said that process took a long time, and had a lot of moving parts. He said the town also met with the post office and tax assessor's office to change the addresses.

“There is very good reason to accept it,” Fortuna said. “The town has done a lot of work. The road is now safe. The intersection is much safer than it ever was.”